Monthly Archives November 2010

As it was underlined in the previous post, the olive oil is the basic constituent of the Cretan diet. A diet that is highlighted by the long live of the cretan people and their good health. Although these to two facts seem to be somewhat unrelated, since one is a fat and the other is health, the truth is (and it is backed up by scientific evidence) that they shed some light to the “mystery”. We will see why olive oil is so good for you, but we will also see that olive oil from olive oil is very different, not only by the name they go by, but for the health benefits.

In the previous post we discussed the essential of knives. Material, methods of production and blades. These are the required information for choosing a knife, but it is not enough on its own. We need to know what we should look for, on a knife based on the application and the skills a chef or a chef wannabe has. What knives do we really need? How much should they cost, and how to pick them? And once you got them how to care for them. Well this is what we will be discussing.

After the biggest break this blog has seen I am back to the blog-sphere. I have started by enriching some of the newest additions (the Gadgets and the Eateries sections) and also I am continuing the transformation of the old blog, by bringing the old post to this one. I am also working on what is required to have this on a dedicated server under the name Food-Mechanics(.com or .org or both). I have added sections where the casual user (you) will be able to describe their own favorite place and their own gadget. There are a lot more coming this way and I am excited. The blog is growing bigger and bigger. Currently Facebook is the major source of publicity. Please share and spread the word! New recipes never before seen are also put together and soon we will be back in action. I cannot hide the excitement!!! Can I?

The food and the cuisine of a culture is very easily depicted in small restaurants and shacks that the locals know. They usually don't care about the appearance of the food, just the quality and the price. When however the food is offered in a more "gourmet" way it is a challenge. You have to overcome the stables and add perspective in dishes that have been around for decades or even centuries. This is not easily achieved, and only some very talented chefs can present the same food in a new way. Unfortunately this comes with a price... A very high price indeed. This is specially true for greek cuisine. The major challenge with greek food is not the food but the greeks themselves. A culture that has been kept isolated from international influences due to the very small emigration currents. It is therefore almost mandatory to stick to the local ingredients, techniques and methods. To overcome these without offending the local taste palette it is hard.

The last few years there is a big buzz about the health benefit of the Mediterranean with Unesco the agent for the national and international heritage recognizing the Mediterranean diet as a distinct way of dieting and nutritional habits. The text of the announcement is not really related to the specific eating habits since the these are completely different between the various Mediterranean culture. It is mostly related to the way of cooking and the general eating habits rather the ingredients. The eating habits include the large consumption of vegetables, little meat, many grains, and a distinct touch of olive oil. The recipes are passed from one generation to the other, among the special bond between mother and daughter. However from one culture to the other there are many different aspects that change completely the ingredients and the methods of cooking making each culture completely distinctive from the others.

New York is the one place on earth that the largest number of cultures are meeting, fusing and mingling producing different culture that is should not really called a melting pot; it resemble more a tossed salad. Something that looks nice together, taste great but you can still occaasionally get a tatse of the individual ingredients. And this makes New York City a great culinary destination. You can get everything your heart desires, from the typical Italian to the Ethiopian, Nepalese, Greek. But if there are the two more dominant culinary cultures are the Italian and the Jewish. And there are many different Jewish little jewels but there is one that is interesting because of what it is offering specialized in sturgeon. And so it is the sturgeon king of New York, NY.